Maruti Suzuki drives in BS-VI compliant Alto with enhanced safety and design features

Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday rolled out the new Alto variant with a BS-VI compliant engine and enhanced safety and design features, priced in the range of Rs 2.94 lakh to Rs 3.72 lakh. The vehicle is costlier by around Rs 16,000-21,000 compared to the outgoing model.

Alto retained its crown as the best-selling passenger vehicle for the 15th consecutive year in FY19. Maruti Suzuki sold 259,401 units of Alto in 2019 fiscal year. This will be the second model by Maruti to be launched with a BS-VI engine. The company on Monday launched the updated version of its premium hatchback Baleno with BS-VI petrol engine.

Maruti Suzuki’s senior executive director (marketing and sales) R S Kalsi said the new Alto was the first BS-VI compliant entry-segment car with a fuel efficiency of 22 km/litre. “Nearly 58% of Alto customers have chosen it as their first car purchase,” he said.

The new Alto has been equipped to meet the upcoming safety norms, and now gets a driver’s airbag as standard. It is also armed with anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brake force distribution system (EBD), rear parking sensors, a driver and co-driver seatbelt reminder alert system as well as a speed-alert device. However, there is no change in the power-train specifications. Alto will continue to be powered by the same 796cc three-cylinder engine, which develops 47.3bhp.

Dual airbags are standard on the top of VXI variant.

Maruti Suzuki also claimed that the vehicle complies with the upcoming crash and pedestrian safety regulations. Earlier this month, the company had upgraded Alto K10 with various safety features leading to a price increase of the model by up to Rs 23,000 in Delhi/NCR.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited